-12/7/88
-From the UGC Arena in Chatanooga, TN
-Opening video features the Road Warriors turning on Dusty and spiking him in the eye.
-Hosts are JR & Bob Caudle
-Match 1: NWA United States Tag Team Championship Tournament Finals: Eddie Gilbert & Ron Simmons VS The Fantastics
-Jason Hervey does the ring announcing. Babyface reaction for Simmons & Gilbert, bit of a mixed reaction for the Fantastics. Simmons and Fulton start. It's Simmons powers VS Fulton's speed, and they take turns hitting moves, with the crowd popping big, especially for Simmons' power moves. Both teams make tags, and the pace picks up. Rogers tags Fulton back in. Fulton avoids a hiptoss and shakes his ass at Gilbert. Gilbert gets pisses after Fulton gets a small package for a near-fall, but they end up shaking hands...to boos. Simmons tags, but Fulton outmaneuvers him before tagging in Rogers. Rogers misses an elbow from the top, and Simmons football tackles Rogers, sending him flying through the ropes. Gilbert and Fulton get back in, and tempers start to flare a little bit more. Simmons and Rogers back in, and Simmons cannot handle Rogers' speed. Gilbert comes in, and things don't go any better for him. Both teams tag, and Fulton hits a big legdrop on Simmons for two.
-Rogers back in, and he hits a back elbow, and a jackknife cover gets two, before Simmons bullies Rogers into the corner, and works him over before tagging Gilbert. Gilbert pounds on Rogers, and gets two off a belly-to-back suplex. Simmons is back in, and doesn't break clean when he and Rogers are in a corner. Simmons misses a corner charge, allowing Rogers to tag Fulton. Fulton comes off the top right into a powerslam. Simmons tags Gilbert, who almost pins Fulton before being sent into the ringpost. Rogers bumps Gilbert off the apron, sending him into the guardrail, and Gilbert's arm is injured. Rogers isn't sure what to do at first, but the Fantastics do start working over the injured arm. Gilbert is now the face-in-peril, and the crowd is right with him.
-Small, high-pitched "Tommy" chant is soon drowned out by a much deeper-toned "Eddie" chant. Gilbert counters a hammerlock throw into the corner, sending Rogers face-first into the turnbuckle. Rogers tags Fulton in, and he ends up running into a hot shot. Eddie does not make the tag, and ends up striking his arm on the ringpost after missing a charge, and Fulton schoolboys him for the pin and the titles. Really long opener, just short of 30 minutes. Match picked up quite nicely after Gilbert's arm injury.
-Match 2: The Italian Stallion VS Dr. Death Steve Williams (w/Kevin Sullivan)
-Williams completely outwrestles Stallion, who can only manage to counter when Williams misses on something. Stallion manages to lock in a short arm scissors. Doc turns the tide, and gets Stallion on his back while still in the hold. Doc uses the ropes for leverage to try to score the pin, but he cannot get it, and Teddy Long ends up kicking his hand off the ropes. Stallion hits a flying crossbody, but Doc throws him off and through the ropes. Doc keeps Stallion on the outside, and Sullivan gets a cheapshot in. Doc gets a big delayed vertical suplex for two. Stallion tries to fight back, but Doc ends up locking in a sleeper. Stallion escapes after almost getting put out, but misses an elbowdrop, allowing Doc to regain control. Stallion takes a cheapshot from Sullivan and an axe handle off the apron from Doc before he fights back again. Corner punches from Stallion are countered with an inverted atomic drop. Doc misses a big splash from the top, and Stallion fires up. Doc catches Stallion while he was attempting a flying crossbody, and Oklahoma Stampede finishes it for Doc. Match was really slow paced, and nothing special to fill the time it was given.
-Match 3: Ivan Koloff VS Paul Jones
-Koloff has one arm tied behind his back. After some brief offense from Koloff to start, match is clipped to Jones nailing Ivan in the throat with a foreign object. Koloff fights back, and ends up nailing Jones with the same object for the pin. The Russian Assassins attack Ivan until the Junk Yard Dog makes the save. Match was there to hype a tag match between The Assassins and Koloff/JYD.
-Match 4: NWA Six Man Tag Team Championship: Road Warrior Animal (w/Paul Ellering) VS Dusty Rhodes
-Winner gets to select new partners to hold the belts with. Dusty is wearing an eye patch. Dusty rushes the ring and attacks right off the bat. Dusty sets up the figure 4, then stops to knock Teddy Long out of the ring for no reason. Dusty gets the hold, but Ellering saves for Animal. Dusty takes control again until Hawk runs in. The Road Warriors look to set up the Doomsday Device, but Sting makes the save for Dusty. Dusty gets a hold of a plastic chair and goes after Animal's leg. Tommy Young comes out and calls for the bell, disqualifying Dusty for the use of the chair, even though JR had said at the beginning of the match that the DQ rule had been waived. Pretty much an angle to take Dusty off the 6 man tag championship team and to set up another match for Starrcade.
-Tony Schiavone & Lex Luger react to the last match and preview the main event.
-Match 5: The Midnight Express (w/Jim Cornette) VS NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair & NWA United States Champion Barry Windham (w/JJ Dillon)
-Mixed reaction for the Midnights, while the Horsemen get a pure heel reaction. Flair & Eaton start. Flair "woooo" 's at Eaton, and takes a stiff slap to the face for it. Eaton keeps control of Flair. Flair Flip in the corner, and Flair ends up walking right into a punch from Lane, who is then tagged in. Lane gets an enziguiri on Flair, who tags Windham. Lane is getting some pops for his moves and playing to the crowd. Windham gets Lane in position for a flying elbow, but Windham misses and Lane knocks Windham out of the ring with a kick. Tags are made by both teams, and Eaton keeps control for his team, as the crowd increasingly gets behind the Midnights. Eaton tags in Lane, who quickly gets a Figure 4 on Flair. The Midnights keep control of the match. Eaton wins a slugfest against Flair. Promo from Paul E. Damgerously airs in the middle of the match, plugging the Midnight Express VS Original Midnight Express tag match at Starrcade. The Midnights get a two man flapjack on Flair for two. Eaton rolls up Flair for two, but Windham sneaks in and nails Eaton to turn the tide. Windham works over Eaton, then tags Flair. Flair lands a kneedrop to the face, then gives Eaton a receipt with a slap to the face.
-Windham drops Eaton on the guardrail, and Flair adds a vicious chop. Windham gets a flying clothesline on Eaton for a one count. Eaton is face-in-peril for a little bit, until he makes the hot tag to Lane. They go high-low on Windham, and Lane superkicks Flair over the top. Eaton hits a legdrop from the top, but the ref is distracted. Cornette goes after JJ, but Flair gets a hold of JJ's shoe, and nails Eaton before rolling Windham on top for the pin. Really strong main event. Odd to see the Midnights working as faces, but it went very well.
-The show overall is OK, with a long opener that doesn't pick up until about half-way through and two matches that are pretty much just angles to set up Starrcade. The main event is very good and worth checking out if you haven't seen it.
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